It should be noted that Kasba Peth is considered among the oldest and most prestigious constituencies in Pune city. It has a significant population of the Brahmin community. The Kasba assembly seat has been with the BJP since 1995. City MP Girish Bapat had won the seat for five consecutive terms followed by Mukta Tilak, who won her maiden assembly election in 2019. However, Tilak's demise necessitated the bypoll.

 

Since the election commission of India announced the dates of Assembly By-elections of Pune's Kasba constituency, both sides have begun preparations in a bid to win the seats with an increased vote margin. The fight is not just between the BJP’s Hemant Rasne and Congress’s Ravindra Dhangekar, the fight is now between nationalists & anti-nationalists. Unlike the earlier elections in which political parties used traditional issues like Metro rail, and rehabilitation of old properties, this time the opposition was seen doing religious polarization of the election to woo the voters. 

 

As per Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, the opposition parties are just trying to create unrest among the Brahmin community. The posters and banners to instigate the community are being raised by the opposition leaders.

 

Osman Heroli Congress Corporator appealed the Muslim community living in Pune to vote in the favour of the Maha Vikas Aghadi ( MVA) candidate Ravindra Dhangekar. Heroli has also asked Muslims who have gone to Saudi, Kuwait and Dubai to come to vote in order to defeat PM Modi and the RSS.

 

 

 

At the NCP's minority assembly, the Congress leader said that PM Modi cannot be defeated unless Muslims vote in large numbers. It should be noted that this is the same place where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj cut Shaista Khan's fingers with an aim to establish Maratha Samrajya.

 

 

Reportedly, prominent Muslim orgnisation like All India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee, 'Solapur District 'Nadaf, Pinjari, Mansuri Muslim Jamaat, Pune City and District', have given letters of support to Ravindra Dhangekar. Pune City District President of All India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee, Hasan Abbas Qureshi has publicly supported Ravindra Dhangekar from the Kasba constituency and Nana Kate from Pimpri Chinchwad.

 

Countering NCP chief Sharad Pawar's appeal to minorities to defeat BJP, Devendra Fadnavis has brought up the ‘Hindutva’ issue while seeking votes for BJP legislator Hemant Rasane in the Kasba constituency. He said there were many attempts by the Opposition to set wrong narratives. Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said the Kasba bypoll was a ‘fightof ideologies – between those removing Article 370 and those upset on the removal of Article 370’.

 

 

 

“Kasba is Hindutvawadi. I am confident that whatever narrative is set, will not work. Yesterday, the NCP chief held a meeting and some leaders of their party made casteist comments that they will bring Muslims from the entire country to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP,” Fadnavis said.

“This fight is not anymore between Hemant Rasane of BJP and Ravindra Dhangekar of Congress but is that of ideologies. It is between those removing Article 370 and those upset on the removal of Article 370,” he added.

 

 

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